1 62 THE EVOLUTIONIST AT LARGE. 



man interests us deeply : what concerns him 

 but slightly we pass over as of no conse- 

 quence. Nevertheless, even the origin and 

 development of walnuts is a subject upon 

 which we may profitably reflect, not wholly 

 without gratification and interest 



This kiln-dried walnut on my plate, which 

 has suggested such abstract cogitations to 

 my mind, is shown by its very name to be a 

 foreign production ; for the word contains 

 the same root as Wales and Welsh, the old 

 Teutonic name for men of a different race, 

 which the Germans still apply to the Italians, 

 and we ourselves to the last relics of the old 

 Keltic population in Southern Britain. It 

 means ' the foreign nut,' and it comes for the 

 most part from the south of Europe. As a 

 nut, it represents a very different type of fruit 

 from the strawberry and raspberry, with 

 their bright colours, sweet juices, and nutri- 

 tious pulp. Those fruits which alone bear 

 the name in common parlance are attractive 

 in their object ; the nuts are deterrent An 



